Fact #23

Real Fact #23: The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monument.

The first word that comes to my mind when I see this is...RANDOM! I also had no idea that national monuments could be mobile. Shows you how much I know...if it's true.

I haven't visited Wikipedia in a while, and this is a more difficult research project. turns out Wikipedia has a list of every national monument. Want the whole list?
Here goes...

Admiralty Island
African Burial...

You know what?

Just go here. There are way too many to list in this blog.

Guess what? The San Fran cars are not listed.

They are not on the disbanded list either.

Of course, other sites, such as various random trivia sites, claim various "truths":

1) The cable cars are not a monument at all
2) The San Fran cars are the only mobile national monument
3) The St. Charles car in New Orleans is also a mobile national monument.

Okay, then, who is right?

I went on the San Francisco cable car website for answers.  First off, just so you know, it's not a great site. It could use an upgrade, so be patient if you ever visit it. Second, I found nothing about the cable cars being a mobile national monument. Personally, I am inclined to go with the source: the actual cable car site.

If you take a look at the random trivia sites that claim that the cable cars are a national monument, they do not list sources you ca track. SO where did they get the information. A note about future research: ALWAYS look at sources. I don't frequently trust Wikipedia, as it goes everything I was taught in school, but at least there are sources. And the cable car website agrees with them.

Maybe this fact is a misinterpretation. On the cable car history page, there is a brief blurb about October 1, 1964. It says that there was a ceremony that designated the San Francisco cable car system as a special mobile National Historic Landmark.

I have never been to San Francisco, so I have never ridden the cable cars there (trust me, I would love to go there for a quick visit). I grew up in the land...or should I say, water...of the Puget Sound Ferry System. I have ridden a cable car before, though. It was 2010, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

(I just tired to post a picture from the trip, but for some reason it will not rotate properly)

We won't go into any details about the trip. It brings up bad memories from a past relationship. However I am still glad I went. I got to eat beignets, walked down Bourbon Street, and visited the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island. Oh, yeah...and ride a cable car (Don't call them trolleys: you might get punched). I would also go back...once the bad memories don't sting anymore.

And yes, beignets are delicious.